Michael Jackson Memorial Footage from around Los Angeles

On June 27th, 2009 I got in my car and drove to all the places fans were gathering around Los Angeles. From the Jackson Family Home in Encino, CA to Michael Jackson’s home in Homely Hills and finally ending at his star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood. Generally I work with still frame, but I happened to have my flip video camera on me and I took some footage. I’ve compiled this footage along with a couple photo’s to show you what I saw that night.

More photos from that day at:

Politicians Gone Wild: Czech Edition

Oh those crazy Politicians!

Michael Jackson – Dirty Diana

One of my all time FAVORITE MJ tunes!

Politicians Gone Wild: Taiwan Parliment Edition

I’m Just Saying….

My favorite fame whore Kate Gosselin……..

What?! I’m just saying!

Today My Generation Lost Our Elvis

LOS ANGELES – It was 1983, I was four years old, my baby-sitter was watching MTV and I was pretty upset that we weren’t playing barbies, but then I saw these werewolves and zombies breaking moves I’d never seen, to musical sounds I’d never imaged could be made. I sat straight up and was glued to the television set. That was the beginning for me, this was my music, this was the music that would define an entire generation, my generation. My first tape was Thriller and when CD’s came out, the first CD I bought was Thriller followed by every single Michael Jackson album I could find. Every album was the best investment I ever made. On a personal note I ended up becoming a musician and composer. I attended Berklee College of Music, and worked in the music industry upon graduating. Not only did Michael influence the music I created but he made me believe ANYTHING was possible. I headed down a path that was not easy, but incredibly fulfilling, it was always scored by the music of Michael Jackson and I was empowered by the influence of his courage.

I could personally list every Michael Jackson song, every dance move, and every beat that influenced and shaped my early years. From Ben to Bad, Man in the Mirror to Black or White, from seeing him moon walk for the first time and then trying many times myself to imitate the man. He influenced an entire generation of musicians, many have tried to match him, but no one will ever succeed, there is only one King of Pop!

I find it very sad that the media glare never allowed Michael the comfort to let his guard down long enough to talk freely, to allow us into his world and really get to know the man behind the music. Now it’s too late. Michael Jackson was a sensitive soul whose music transcended race, religion and gender. He truly cared about his fellow human beings and gave so much back to the world, through both his music and humanitarian efforts. It saddens me that over the last decade the world branded him as an eccentric and freak, then tossed him to the side like yesterdays trash. This man gave us ALL of himself, he introduced us to sounds not even found in our wildest dreams, he introduced us to dance moves that perplexed even the seasoned pro’s, he raised millions upon millions for several charities around the world and we took and took and took until today. Now there is no more to take. Michael Jackson’s heart might have physically given out today, but I think it broke down a long time ago. 50 in our years was probably more like 95 in Michael Jackson years. I hope the talents, achievements and humanitarian efforts of Michael Jackson continue to be celebrated and enjoyed for generations to come.

Michael, your music will forever be a part of my soul. Thank you for sharing your life and music with all of us. May you rest in peace.

Above are images of how I will remember Michael Jackson.

The Stoning of Soraya M. LAFF Q&A Session

Q&A with LAFF guest artist Khaled Hosseini (author of The Kite Runner), Iranian writer and scholar Reza Aslan, the film’s director Cyrus Nowrasteh and the star of the film Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Sand and Fog). (review below this post)

If the video is choppy you can also view it on yahoo video:

The Stoning of Soraya M. LAFF Q&A Session @ Yahoo! Video

The Stoning of Soraya M. – Relevant, Powerful, Disturbing

LOS ANGELES – Every film festival I attend I walk away with at least one gem that I tell all of my friends they “must see”. At the 2009 LA Film Festival that gem was The Stoning of Soraya M. I commend LAFF for programming this film during such a delicate and critical time in Iranian history. I greatly admire anyone who can give a voice to those whose voices have been silenced. The Stoning of Soraya M. epitomizes this concept.

The film is based on the 1986 true story of the stoning death of an Iranian women, Soraya, accused of adultery by her abusive husband who wanted her gone so he could get a new wife. When Soraya would not grant her husband a divorce he sets in motion a series of deceptive events that eventually lead to her conviction and sentencing of death by stoning. The story is told in retrospect by Soraya’s aunt, Zahra (played by Oscar nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo) to a traveling journalist, (James Caviezel, Passion of the Christ), after his car breaks down in town the day after the stoning.

Shohreh Aghdashloo’s portrayal of Zahra, Soraya’s aunt and narrator of the story, was phenomenal and fierce. She is an extraordinary actress, in one look she can deliver to her audience volumes of emotion and story. Her performance alone makes this film worth seeing. The entire cast came together to fearlessly deliver this very important story.

The scenes of the actual stoning were filmed over a period of six days. Cyrus Nowrasteh (director/writer) makes no apologizes, the stoning scenes are very real, very graphic, and almost unwatchable. This is a crucial decision made by Nowrasteh to ensure that after you watch this film then hear of a stoning, you will know exactly what that entailed. It is important to note that stonings still take place today all over the world, mostly to women accused of the same crimes and circumstances as Soraya. Knowing this makes one feel obligated to view this film, view these scenes and get involved to stop these horrific violations of women’s rights around the world.

After the film there was a great Q&A with LAFF guest artist Khaled Hosseini (author of The Kite Runner), Iranian writer and scholar Reza Aslan, the film’s director Cyrus Nowrasteh and the star of the film Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Sand and Fog). (see video above this post)

The film will be released in the US on June 26^th, 2009

For more information on the film and how to get involved: www.thestoning.com

Paper Man: FAIL

LOS ANGELES – The Opening Night Gala of the 15th Annual Los Angeles Film Festival kicked off last night with the World Premiere of Paper Man. Written and Directed by the husband/wife team of Michele and Kieran Mulroney, the film stars an all-star cast including; Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Daniels, Lisa Kudrow, Emma Stone and Kieran Culkin.

Paper man is the coming of age dramedy of Richard Dunn (Jeff Daniels), a failed novelist trying to ward off a debilitating case of writers block, the expectations of his surgeon wife (Lisa Kudrow) and the constant presence of a superhero (Ryan Reynolds) who’s lived inside his head since 2nd grade. Enter Abby, a Long Island teenager who forms an unlikely friendship with Richard and teaches him, no matter how old you are, it’s never too late to grow up.

Sounds interesting and maybe even good right? I have to say, I was less than impressed with this film. I am all for independent films, there have been several that I have fallen in love with over the years, however this film had many scenes that felt like the directors were trying to be weird and quirky for the sake of being weird and quirky. That causes unnecessary scenes, plot points and over all frustration and insult to the viewer. Paper Man requires the audience to invest a lot in this film and the is minimal. Over all is a very slow moving, self-indulgent filmic experience with few redeeming qualities.

Yikes, that was pretty harsh, so let’s end on the positive. Emma Stone’s performance as Abby could really land her some serious major roles in the future. Her talent comes shining through, I expect some very good thing from this young actress.

I suggest waiting for a DVD release of this film if you attempt it.

Away We Go: Maya Rudolph Shines!

LOS ANGELES – What happens when you put two goofballs, John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph in a film directed by Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road), a man who gave us the most depressing film couple I have seen in years? Answer: A surprisingly good film!

Written by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, Away We Go is a heart warming story that centers around Burt, a blundering insurance-futures salesman played by John Krasinski and his long-time girlfriend, Verona (Maya Rudolph). Burt and Verona suddenly find themselves pregnant and living in a decrepit trailer in Colorado near Burt’s parents (Catherine O’Hara, Jeff Daniels). Their reason for staying in Colorado quickly falls apart when Burt’s parents announce they are moving out of the country. Realizing they need to find a real home to raise their daughter, Burt and Verona set out on a trip to visit friends all over North America. Along the way we meet several different characters and experience scenes ranging from hilarity to down right poignant; Allison Janney delivers several laugh out loud moments as Verona’s crazy former boss seemingly bidding for worst mother of the year; Maggie Gyllenhaal scores in her roll as LN a self-righteous, bohemian mom with an irrational hatred for strollers; in Toronto we meet the college friends who seem to have the perfect family, we soon find out, it’s far from it; finally we end up in Miami in an unexpected detour to help Burt’s brother through a crisis delivering one of the most poignant scenes in the entire film.

The real treat of the film is watching Maya Rudolph, she delivers an unexpected and brilliant performance, highlighted by perfect timing and revealing facial expressions. We all knew she could do comedy, now we all know she can deliver an outstanding dramatic performance. This is her “Lost In Translation” role. I sincerely believe this could be a break through performance for Maya, and perhaps the breakthrough indie film of the year.

See this one in the theatre, it does not disappoint.
The film hits nationwide June 26
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